The Large Hadron Collider/ATLAS at CERN

ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) is one of the six particle detector
experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, TOTEM, LHCb, and LHCf) currently being
constructed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC is a particle
accelerator and collider located at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland
(46°14_N, 6°03_E). Currently under construction, the LHC is scheduled
to begin operation in May 2008 and ATLAS in mid-2008. When completed,
ATLAS will be 46 metres long and 25 metres in diameter, and will weigh
about 7,000 tonnes.

The LHC is expected to become the world's largest and highest energy
particle accelerator. The LHC is being funded and built in
collaboration with over 2,000 scientists and engineers at 165
universities and laboratories in 35 countries.

When activated, it is hoped that the collider will produce the elusive
Higgs boson — often dubbed the God Particle — the observation of which
could confirm the predictions and 'missing links' in the Standard
Model of physics, and explain how other elementary particles acquire
properties such as mass. The verification of the existence of the
Higgs boson would be a significant step in the search for a Grand
Unified Theory which seeks to unify three of the four fundamental
forces: electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. The
Higgs boson may also help to explain why the remaining force,
gravitation, is so weak compared to the other three forces.